


Witches for Weasleys Year 3

by Spajuch13



Series: Witches for Weasleys [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 11:22:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4604856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spajuch13/pseuds/Spajuch13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The third installment of the Witches for Weasleys series, involving the appearance of the Golden Trio, plenty of pranks, traditions recounted, teenage angst, and the beginning of a relationship that's been a long time coming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Year 3-1 POV Cas

My face is starting to hurt I've been smiling so much. I couldn't sleep at all last night, and I was up at dawn with my bags packed, sitting by the door when my dad finally came down to take me to Kings Cross. As soon as I got on the train I found Jo, and the twins weren't too far behind. We immediately started filling each other in on our summers while everyone filed onto the train.

"Who you looking for, Cas?" Fred asks me. I keep looking into the crowd making its way through the train.  Jo starts laughing before she finally answers him, "The food trolly!" Which makes everyone else laugh. I hit her but don't deny it, and then Jo bolts upright in her chair, her eyes shining with recognition. I turn as someone pulls our car door open- it's Oliver Wood. He waves and says hi to everyone before turning to Jo.

 "You forget our deal, you little ferret? Come on," he gestures and she stands. Fred and I share a glance while George just looks into his lap. "You wanna come too, George? We're sitting with the team," Oliver offers. He seems genuine enough, but George shakes his head.

"My kid brother's first year- he's a few cars down, I wanna be here for him," he replies, not quite meeting Jo or Oliver's eyes. I can tell he's lying, and I'm pretty sure Jo can too, but she makes a remark about catching up at the feast and lets Wood drag her off to wherever. We don't even have time to talk before the door slides open again. I'm ready to pounce on whoever it is, not really in the mood to put up with strangers. But it isn't a stranger- it's Ruby. I scoot over so she'll have space next to me, but before she sits down she pulls me into an awkward and too long hug, in classic Ruby fashion. I push her off as soon as I can and she sits.

"Did I just see Oliver and Jo holding hands? Walking together on the train?" She asks eagerly.

George ignores her, Fred nods his head, and I snap, "They weren't holding hands!". She just laughs at us. 

"They're such a cute couple, even if he's a little older. I mean, I wish I had a guy to hold hands with. She's so lucky!" George huffs and mutters something that just sounds like "wanawanawana" to me, but I don't ask him to clarify. Instead I take the opportunity to correct Ruby.

"They're not dating, Roo. He was taking her to where all the quidditch players are sitting. I swear it's a cult."

"Hey!" Fred shouts, kicking me. He sticks his tongue out but I ignore it.

"Got it, Roo? Not dating, no ones dating. I mean- we're only fourteen!"

She nods but has this rediculous  grin on her face that makes me think she wasn't listening to me. The train jerks and we all brace ourselves, and next thing we know, we're off. We talk for a while...well, Ruby does most of the talking. I listen at first, about her time home with her folks. I just kind of zone out. Her constant talking is a little like white noise.  I keep checking the time, and realize it's been almost a half hour since we started moving. I furrow my brow and look down the car to see if the trolley's coming yet, but it isn't.

"Where's the trolly?"

"Shut up Cassidy, no one cares," George whines. I give him a little glare and tell him that when the trolley does come, he won't get any of the stuff I buy. He just rolls his eyes at me. Then I hear a familiar bump and jump to my feet. The trolley's pulling up, and I slide the door open.

"Hello! Can I have-" I start.

"Oh, sweetie, we're all sold out," the lady says before I can finish.

"Sold out?" I ask in disbelief.

"'Fraid so, love. Little boy, probably new, bought me out," she says with a sympathetic smile before pushing the empty trolley forward. The door slips shut and I just stand there. There's silence for a minute before George starts cracking up. He's howling with laughter at something I think is the very opposite of funny. My hands are clenched and I feel my face flaring.

"No!" Is all I can manage. Fred's laughing now too, in between teasing apologies. Ruby takes my wrist and pulls me back into my seat, where I stomp my foot. I jump back up and throw the door open, marching in the direction the trolley came from. I hear everyone get up and follow me.

"Cas! Cas, come on, it's not worth it," Fred tries from a few steps behind me, but I'm not about to give this up. I spent all summer looking forward to me pre-feast feast on the train, and I will have it. A few cars down I see it- a pile of food covering a seat next to some little runt. I get to their chart and slide open the door, and I'm about to open my mouth when I see something. Sitting across from the boy and the food is a little red headed child.

"Weasley?" I ask. The red headed one looks up at me, confused.

"Ron!" The twins shout in unison behind me. I turn around to see them and Ruby just standing behind me. The twins push forward and then we're all shoved in the tiny compartment with Ron, the boy, and a little girl with wild brown hair.

"How's it goin, Ron?" George asks him, and the little one's eyes get real wide.

"You'll never guess, guys- this is-"

"No _way_!" Ruby shouts right in my ear. I elbow her in the stomach and she groans.

"Cas, that's _Harry Potter_! _The_ Harry Potter!" She squeals. The little boy, who has messy black hair that hangs low over his forehead, gives a shy little smile to Ruby, along with a nod. Ruby pushes me aside and sticks out her hand to shake his. I just kind of look around, and see that the twins look shocked. For once- well, besides when it comes to quidditch- I'm lost.

"Who?" I ask, and Ruby gasps real offended-like in response.

"Come _on_ , Cas! _Harry Potter_ , the boy who lived!" I shake my head and give an apologetic shrug. Harry laughs a small little laugh and tells me it's no problem. Then he asks us to sit, so I squeeze next to Ruby who plopped herself right next to him. The brown haired girl is on his other side, and all the Weasleys are lined up on the other side of the compartment. Harry offers us some food from the trolley, which I take immediately. Maybe he's an alright kid after all.

"That's Casssidy, Ron. Fred told you about her," George says, and I nearly choke on a biscuit telling him off about calling me 'Cassidy'.

"Ohhh, that's her. You the other one, then? George's friend?" Ron asks Ruby, prompting George to frown dramatically.

"No, that's Ruby, she's Hufflepuff. Jo's not here, she's with some other people," Fred explains, leaving George to fold his arms with a grumpy huff.

"What about you, then?" I ask the other girl. She looks over at me and straightens her shoulders, all proud.

" _I'm_ Hermione Granger," she tells me, and I just give her a nod. She seems kinda pretentious. Real in your face. I don't go for that. I'm kind of sorry I asked. Fred slaps his hands on his knees and stands up.

"Well, we better get back. Nice meeting you, Harry Potter. You too, Hermione. Ron, it's never nice seeing you," Fred says, smiling. George gets up after him and tousles Ron's hair. I follow the twins, and so does Ruby. We make our way back to our own compartment, and I pull out some sweets from my robe.

"Did you steal candy from Harry?" Ruby accuses, appalled. I nod and say that he offered, so of course I took some. I was being polite.

"How do you know who he is, anyway?" I ask her. Minutes later I regret it. Ruby goes off on a lecture about who Harry is, about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and the Wizarding War. I know about the war, and a little about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but I never learned much about Harry Potter.  Maybe as a bedtime story once or twice from Tonks, but otherwise the name and story don't really ring any bells.

As soon as she takes a breath I jump up and go to change my robes. I see Jo on the way, with the quidditch people. She looks like she's having fun, and I'm not sure whether I'm happy for her or if I resent her for it. In the end it's none of my buisness really, and on my way back from changing I'm about to drop in and tell her I met the little Weasley, but decide against it. I'll have plenty of time to talk to her before or after the feast. If the little Weasley ends up a Gryffindor, which I secretly guess he will, she'll meet him soon enough anyway. I never actually asked Fred what he really thought. If maybe another Weasley would go Slytherin. Fred's proud of our house, but I still see this look on his face sometimes that reminds me I'm not George, and that I'm not enough for him. That Slytherin was never what he wanted. It hurts for those few seconds, but the moments always pass and we act like they never happened in the first place.

When I get back to the twins and Ruby they're all laughing about something the twins said. I jump right into the rhythm and start sharing about my own summer. Without Tonks there it was kinda lonely, but I entertained myself. Accidentally set a fire in the kitchen, but I got it out with that water spell I taught myself first year. My parents never did find out. I spent a lot of my summer reading and going to a pool. It paid off in a nice tan that will probably fade before September's over.

We swap stories for the rest of the train ride, and ten minutes before we stop, Jo comes back. All of her bags are still with us, and she says she'll be staying with us until we get to Hogwarts. I notice Ruby giving her a weird look, but I ignore it. The look George was giving her, on the other hand, I couldn't ignore. He looked a mixture of annoyed and hurt. I guess the summer didn't give him he courage he needs to "win" Jo. I don't approve of the idea, but if time isn't helping him, maybe I can. I have a whole new year to fix the plan I failed in last year. I think I have my mission as a third year.


	2. Year 3-2 POV Jo

The entire Hall erupted in whispers for a couple of seconds when Harry Potter's name was called to be sorted. Most everyone has heard of him. Me just today for the first real time, when George and I finally got to catch up after the train ride. I'm still a little annoyed that he didn't come sit with the team on the ride, but if he really wanted to be there for Ron, that's alright. I think the real reason he wanted to stay behind is because of Fred. Maybe to make Fred feel better about not being in Gryffindor, maybe because he thinks their little brother wouldn't be Slytherin, maybe because he thinks he won't be spending as much time with Fred this year. It's not my place to guess, though. After I came back to the train car George stuck by my side. He caught me up on meeting the great Harry Potter, and who exactly this Potter kid is. Apparently some legend, and as he told me I vaguely remembered the stories. A failed murder attempt by this evil wizard who ended up dying after not killing the kid. History is more Cas's thing, and honestly that scrawny kid sitting under the Sorting Hat doesn't seem like the stuff of legends.

The Hall is real quiet, so we can all hear when the Hat starts talking. Throwing around ideas about Slytherin. For a second I think he was sorted there, until the hat shouts out "Griffindor!". We erupt in cheers, like we do for all our newbies, and he comes sits at our table. Everyone is trying to get close and shake his hand or high five him or just get a better look. The rest of the sorting is regular. No big surprises, although when the little Weasley got sorted the room was holding its breath. He ended up with us in Gryffindor, and even though I was cheering louder than most I felt this little pit in my stomach ache for Fred.  Slytherin got a fair amount of kids, and there was this one- platinum blond little thing. The hat barely touch his head before announcing the kid is in Slytherin. He had the same smug look on his face Cas had when she was sorted, but his eyes were different. Cas was proud in a pretty way. This kid looked kind of crazy.

We're all sitting and the Hall is so loud you can barely hear yourself think, let alone hear the conversations people are trying to have with you. Me and all the Weasley boys are sitting together. It's weird not having Charlie here with us, his quiet energy and secret smile. The littlest Weasley, Ron, he fits right in. He's stuffing his face with two chicken legs at once, and I must be gaping at him because George's older brother Percy starts lecturing Ron about table manners. Everyone else is laughing at him. He's a prefect this year, and I guess he's expecting more respect from his brothers than he usually gets. He's going to be disappointed. After everyone's done eating it's time for the school song. Dumbledore gets up gives his little inspirationsal speech- talks about the history and pride of Hogwarts. He introduces the staff, and everyone is pretty surprised to hear Proffessor Quirrel came back to teach Defense. Obviously we needed someone to replace Tonks, but him? Cas'll be excited I guess, she liked him well enough our first year. Then Dumbledore talks about how the Dark Forest and third floor are off limits this year, which is a little weird. Me and George share a mischievous glance just before we notice Dumbledore look in our direction. I flush bright red as he catches my eyes. I always knew he knew who's been causing all the trouble in school, but I never thought he'd really single me out on it. But it's just for a second, and I totally get back in the spirit when he starts singing the school song.

  _"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, hoggy-warty Hogwarts..."_

 he begins, and the rest of the school quickly picks it up. The thing is, there's no actual tune, so we all sing it our own way. It's a total mess, but that's part of the tradition. I sing it to an old rock and roll song I listened to over the summer, and I hear George singing real slow, like a funeral march or something. I finish the song long before him, and it takes a second but I realize someone is matching his pace. All the way across the Hall, at the Slytherin table, Fred is singing the same exact way as George. They're the last ones singing in the Hall, and everyone erupts in cheers right as they finish. Then Dumbledore dismisses us, and Percy starts trying to control everyone. He's not doing very well until Oliver steps in and does this real loud, real shrill whistle he uses when he's getting the team together during practice. Everyone shuts up and Percy leads our house up to the common room, behind the portrait of the Fat Lady. Plenty of people know it's here, the same way it's basically common knowlege that the Slytherin dorms are in the Dungeons. But we have a password that keeps non-Gryffindors out. Of course, I'm pretty sure Fred and George swap passwords, or whatever secret thing you do to get into Slytherin, during the first week.

Everyone gathers in the common room, and we light a fire and pass around drinks and biscuits and fun stuff like that. Percy tries to get everyone organized but even he gets swept up in the moment of House bonding. There are people singing kareoke, playing charades, dancing, sitting and lying and standing everywhere. We're crazy in the way family is crazy- not crazy at all, except to an outsider. And there aren't any outsiders here. We're all family. Finally around midnight, when most of the first years are asleep on couches or on the floor, and the seventh years may or not be drunk, we all collectively decide it's time to go to sleep. The thing is, me and George decide we're not really tired. Not ready for our first day back to be done. Knowing this was going to happen, I planned ahead and made sure Cas had the Map ready to sneak on over to us and guide us to somewhere safe where no teachers would find us.

George and I sneak out when we know Percy isn't looking- probably carrying a first year to the dorms- and hang out in the nearest corridor. Five minutes later we hear footsteps and I have a mini heart attack. But it was Cas and Fred, like it was supposed to be. The four of us sneak off, and I ask if we're going to get Ruby. Cas and Fred share a smile and shake their heads no- they had gone to get her, but the entire Hufflepuff house had apparently gone to sleep an hour ago. We all laugh, it figures they'd be the ones to crash first. So the four of us just spend most of the night sneaking around. We don't have any close run ins with anyone, since we have the Map guiding us. After a few hours we've covered most all the castle- except the third floor. Without even really saying it we make our way there, not knowing what to expect. Obviously it's dark, just like all the others places we've been to tonight. We walk all around, but we don't see anyone else on the Map on the floor. We try a couple of doors, but they'd all locked magically. All of us know how to open them at this point, but we don't really feel like now is the time. This is an adventure for another day. We do another sweep of the corridor to see if we've missed anything, but we didn't. It's the same as it was last year, and the year before that. Just darker, since it's way past midnight.

With that I ask Cas to guide us back to the Fat Lady, and she does. We get there and have to wake the Fat Lady up, which doesn't make her happy, but she lets it go since it's the first day. She's learned to like me and George, and she's used to us coming and going at weird times every once in awhile. She opens up and tells us no more mischief, but she's snoring again before the door closes.  We walk into a trashed common room. I think it's elves that do the cleaning, not that I've ever seen them do it, but I think to myself that whoever has to clean this, they have their work cut out for them. At least all the kids seem to be in the dorms.

 "I'm still not tired," George whispers to me. I nod my head in agreement, but I second later I let out this huge yawn that makes both me and George crack up.

 "Come on, let's just stay up and do something or just talk. Pull an all nighter," he begs me. I can see it in the way he can't stop blinking that he's about to fall asleep standing up, and I feel like I am too.  I push him in the direction of the boys's dorm, but he grabs my arm and tries to pull me with him. We both end up falling to the ground, none too gracefully. We laugh a little, and I pull myself up onto a couch. I put my head on the armrest and stare into the fireplace. The fire is long out, but I think there are still some embers glowing in he bottom. Maybe I'm just hallucinating from being so tired. I feel George nudge my legs, and I curl up into a ball, giving him space on the other side of the couch. He crawls up next to me, and I feel my body shift with the added weight on the couch. I'm trying so hard to keep my open, but my eyelids feel heavy.

 "I'm glad we're back," I whisper, and even my voice feels heavy coming out.

 "So am I," George mutters.

 "Can't wait for quidditch."

 "Mhmm," he mutters.

 I smile. He's asleep. I might be too. This might all be a dream. I hope it's not. Maybe I'm on the train still, sleeping with my head on Cas's shoulder. But I was with Oliver on the train. We talked about quidditch and summer and...quidditch and Oliver and....me and George? But George wasn't there he was with Cas and Ruby. Rubies are red like Gryffindor. Gryffindor is my home, and I'm so glad to be home...


	3. Year 3-3 POV Cas

Fred can't even mask the disappointment on his face. On the other side of the Hall, the Gryffindor table is cheering loudly for their newest member, Ronald Weasley. I saw it coming. I saw it coming even before I met the kid. And when I did meet him, he didn't look like he belonged with us in Slytherin. There's nothing wrong with that, and I know Fred knows it, but when the Hat sorted his brother he looked like he just gave up. That little light in his eyes- hope, I guess it was- went out, and his whole body is just slumped now. He really didn't want to be the only one. I put my hand on his shoulder but he immediately shrugs it off, and I know to back down. He'll want to talk about it later. Maybe not today or tomorrow or even this year, but he'll want to talk about it and I'll be here for him when he does.

I don't really pay attention to the rest of the sorting. I clap when the rest of my House claps, and Fred does too. But his mind is on Ron and George maybe, and mine is on him. There's one kid, though, fastest sorting I've seen yet. The Hat barely touched his head before sending the kid to us. Malfoy, his name is. Looks like an arrogant little thing, but I probably did too when I was first sorted. After the sorting we all eat, and at this point Fred lightens up some. Everyone's laughing and talking and catching up with old friends. After we eat Dumbledore gets up and makes some announcements. Quirrel is back, for one. I forgot that because Tonks is gone, we'd be getting a new teacher. An old teacher, as it turns out. I'm happy enough. Quirrel is no Tonks, but he's a good teacher. I'm more excited for Potions though- I missed that class most over the summer. Dumbledore goes on to say that the dark forest and third floor are off limits, and maybe it was suppressed guilt or something, but I swear he looked right at me when he said it. I mean, sure we cause a little trouble- buts it's nothing major and it's not like him making a rule will keep us from doing whatever we want. I ask Fred if he saw it too, but he just calls me paranoid.

Finally it's time for the school song- Dumbledore starts it off and the whole Hall erupts in a million different versions of the same song. I'm not much of a singer so I kind of chant it real loud and up beat, while Fred sings it like some depressing lullaby or whatever. He's the last one singing, and only at the very end do I realize all the way at the Gryffindor table George is singing exactly in tune with Fred. The twins finish off and the everyone starts dispersing. I laugh at Fred who has this goofy grin.

"Nice planning," I say with a nudge. He pushes back.

"Planning? What planning? That was spur of the moment twin telepathy." I roll my eyes and keep pushing forward through the crowd towards the dungeon. The cool green glow fills the Slytherin common room, and I breathe it in. I've missed being here so much. Fred and I sit down on a couch right beneath a window that lets us see up into the lake. The common room slowly fills up, with all the newly sorted kids coming in last. Then our four prefects and head boy and girl stand on a table in the center of the common room, hushing all the whispers. The two oldest ones, Head Girl Gemma Farely and Head Boy Johnathan Spratt, take the lead on addressing everyone. They give your basic house pride speech, history of Slytherin and our founder, and greatest wizards we've produced, which includes Merlin apparently. I sit up straight and can barely control myself as Gemma brings the speech to a close. I can feel the suspense in the air- this is it, the big moment. Gemma gives a single and the four younger prefects get up and go to a cabinet, pulling out four trays with little cups on them.

"All first years, stand up," Gemma says with a sinister grin. I'm biting back a laugh at this point- I can see them all squirming as they slowly pull themselves and each other up.

"That was us at one point, remember?" Fred whispers to me. I don't take my eyes off the new kids, but I can hear the smile on his face.

"We weren't that scared, were we?" I ask back in this squeaky voice, and Fred lets out a little laugh. No one notices though. So I just swat his arm and put my finger to my lips. Now it's Jonathan's turn to talk.

"First years, welcome. You're here with us because you belong with us. This wasn't a choice you could make. Family isn't a choice. We are your family now, until the day you die, and even after that." Some kids roll their eyes, others look scared. Some have these looks of pride and boldness. The arrogant looking one- Malfoy- he's rolling his eyes. _Just you wait,_ I think to myself. Jonathan continues: "Here in Slytherin we have no secrets. Gemma told you how we were home to The Dark Lord. Now it's you're turn to be honest with us. The prefects will now pass around cups. Inside these cups are truth serum, generously made and donated by our Head of House, Professor Snape." Now the kids are sweating. I'm enjoying this too much. The kids all get their cups and one by one drink them. Some bold ones down them like shots, other sip tentatively. I remember that stuff tastes awful, and I can see it written all over their faces. They look up to Jonathan for their next instructions. A sinister smile Gemma had spreads across his face.

"Now you will get up on this table with me, one by one, introduce yourselves, and one of your older housemates will ask you a question. It might be stupid, or embarrassing, or filthy, but you're going to answer honestly. Who's first then?" No one volunteers. No one ever volunteers. Gemma grabs a random girl by the hand and hoists her up onto the table next to Jon. All of us who aren't first years start banging our hands, making a real intimidating ruckus. The girl is looking down at her feet, and I can't see her face but I think her eyes are squeezed shut. Jon puts up a hand and the room goes silent.

"Name?"

"Donna Vale," she whimpers. Jon holds her hand up over her head.

"Donna Vale, our first new Slytherin! Who wants to initiate her?" A few hands go up, and Jon picks some older kid I don't know. He stands up and the rest of us give a quick little bit of applause.  

"Donna Vale, have you ever kissed someone?" I couple of people laugh, a few moan, and Donna goes bright red.

"Come on, Donna, it's okay," Jon says.

"Yes!" She shouts before clamping her hands over her mouth. The room erupts in laughter and Donna looks like she's about to cry. Jon waves up the kid, who climbs on the table with Donna, and gives her a hug.

"Welcome to Slytherin, Donna," the boy says. Everyone jumps up, applauding and hooting and chanting her name. She wipes her eyes, hugs the boy and Jon and Gemma, and a group of sixth years call her over, shouting that they want the cool first year to be their friend. She sits with them, beaming and happy, and Jon hushes everyone.

"Well, now you see what's in store for the rest of you. Donna, welcome and congratulations. Before we continue, just one more note about tonight: You first years are being initiated into more than a House. We're a family. We are loyal to each other above all else. Tonight we bare our secrets and souls to each other.  What we share tonight we take to the grave, never to discuss again with anyone. As Slytherins we will fight for each other. We would die for each other. We would kill for each other. We are brothers, sisters, friends, and lovers. We are Slytherins. Now, who wants to be next?" The room goes wild for a solid few minutes before Gemma shuts us up and moves on with the rest of the first years. Some get easy questions, about their family, favorite animal or color; some get weird ones like 'have you ever tried to kill a man?', or 'how'd you find out about wizardry?'. Everyone's loosened up now, no more nervous looks on the first years. Finally the blonde one gets pulled up, and I jump to my feet waving my hand to get to ask him his question.

"Name?" Gemma asks him.

"Draco Malfoy," he replies with a proud smirk. I know the name, and I can tell by the murmur circling the room that others do too. His dad's real big and influential in the ministry.

Gemma goes to pick  volunteer. "Alright, you then," Gemma says as she calls on me. I jump to my feet.

"Draco Malfoy, what are you most afraid of?" I get a lot of nods and hums of approval- no one's asked that on yet. Draco swallows and gives me a little sneer. Fred nudges me as a way of saying 'back off'. I've already won, and we both know it; though, I don't really know what I've won or why I felt I should win it in the first place. I mean, in a way this kid is my brother now.

"My father," Malfoy finally responds. He's trying to keep a straight face but some contempt is leaking out. Everyone's shocked into silence- we were all expecting 'death' or 'monsters' or something, but this was way deeper than anyone usually got. I stand up and started clapping, and Fred and everyone else quickly follow. I go over and hop up on the table with him, stick out my hand and we shake.

"Welcome to Slytherin, Draco. I'm Cas. You'll be great here, I can tell."  He looks into my eyes and the anger is still there, but softened. He nods at me, and I pull him into a hug, feeling swept up in the moment. It takes a second, but I feel him hug back. We jump off the table together and Gemma pulls the next first year up.  I sit back down with Fred to watch the last of the first years get initiated. Then Jon and Gemma hop back up on the table, and call for silence.

"Congratulations, members of Slytherin new and old. Now it's time for the next part of initiation," Gemma starts. The first years, who are now dispersed throughout the rest of us at random, look for each other in confusion.

"Now," Gemma continues, "it's your chance to turn the tables. Now the rest of us will be honestly answering any questions you see fit to ask us." Lots of wide eyes and a couple of threatening grins. I see Malfoy hone in on me, and tell Fred as much. He laughs and tells me I deserve it, throwing a hard one at him like I did. I roll my eyes at him- it was nothing next to what he went through our first year. When Fred first got called up no one volunteered to ask him his question. He was basically the elephant in the room. Finally one of the prefects spoke up.

"Where did you think you were gonna be sorted?" She asked.

"Gryffindor," he answered, strong and true as anything.

"A little off then, I guess. Glad you're here, Fred. You're one of us," she said as she hopped up and hugged him. The whole room started chanting, _"One-of-Us, One-of-Us,"_ and they lifted him up above their heads and passed him around. When he got back to me I saw that he was happy, but there were tear stains on his face. I always knew it would be hard for him, no matter how close he got with the rest of us. So not long after the first years start asking us questions, I volunteer to answer. Draco pops up immediately, and from some corner of the room we here a low _"oooooOOOOOO"_ and everyone starts laughing.

"Draco," I say with a nod an amused grin.

"What's your least favorite part of being Slytherin?" He nods back with a glint in his eye. He's good, and some people vocalize they're approval. He's bold- bolder than the rest. This is an attack. Revenge. I think for a second.

"Come on, then. And you gotta be honest," he says.

"I know, Draco, I know, " I stall, "...honestly? Worst part of Slytherin is not being in the same house as my best friend," I finally answer. I get some looks, but I continue, "Thing is, who needs friends when I've got you in my family now, right Draco?" He gives a huff and not too genuine smile, knowing I beat him. I can't get a real read on him, not that I can focus with everyone jumping up and cheering and the people close enough patting me on my back. I did well and the whole House respects that, especially since I was being dead honest in a way some Slytherins wouldn't like. I won them back before I lost them. By the time everyone else has gone it's midnight. Jon gets up and reminds everyone that they will never speak of this night again, not even with each other, but remember it as a sacred bonding experience. Then everyone splits up into their dorms to get ready to sleep. Before he can get away, I grab Fred and pull him into a shadow by the entrance. He gives me a questioning look but knows enough to stay quiet. We slip out as soon as we know no one's looking. I pull out the Map, take one look and start walking. Five minutes later were at Hufflepuff common room, but Ruby's not waiting like I thought she'd be. Looking at the Map I see that all of them are in their dorms. They're asleep.  After that waste of time I basically run all the way to where Jo and George are waiting.

"You planned to have a meet up without telling us?" Fred asked after establishing George didn't know either.

"No, it was Jo and me using twin telepathy," I respond sarcastically, making Fred laugh and shove me. Jo gasps, and I tell her to shut up as I look at the Map. We spend like an hour or maybe more just wandering around the castle before we decide to break the rules and go to the third floor. Weirdly, there's nothing there, and we end up just going back to our common rooms.  After dropping Jo and Geogre off me and Fred head back to the Dungeons. The common room is dark and empty, but even this late at night there's a greenish glow to the blackness. I make my way to go to the girls beds, but Fred stops me.

"Come on, you're not actually tired are you?" He asks.

"Actually, I am," I reply dryly. I'm lying though, and I think he knows. I keep walking toward my dorm. I haven't gotten to lie down or unpack or even see who's got beds near me.

"I'll follow you in there," Fred says. I keep walking.

"No you won't," I tell him.

"Wanna bet?"

I don't answer, instead I wave goodnight over my shoulder and open the door to the dorm. I'm in and waiting to hear the door click shut, but it doesn't. Instead of hearing the click, I hear a _whirring_ noise and Fred shout. I rush back out the door and see him on his ass at the bottom of a slide. I had totally forgotton- it's just a rumor, I thought- but apparently guys can't come into the girls' dorm. The stairs turn into a slide to keep them out. The stairs click back, and I run down to see if Fred's okay. He gets up, rubbing his head where he had hit it on the floor, but otherwise he's fine.

"Go to bed, Fred!" I hiss, but he just shakes his head. I guess there's really no point in arguing anymore. We spend the entire night whispering to each other, sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, which Fred convinced me to light. I don't know what time it is when Jonathan comes out of the boys' dorm and finds us, but he doesn't say anything and neither do we. We don't need to- Jon understands. We're Slytherin, we're family. This is just how family is. Fred looks at me through tired eyes and asks, "I thought I was your best friend?"  I'm shocked for a second, since technically in a way he just brought up last nights ceremony out loud. At the same time, rules have never stopped us before.

"No, that's Jo," I respond flatly. He looks kind of sad, and I think for a second. "No, you're not my best friend. You're something different- something more. I just haven't figured out the word yet. Maybe this time next year I'll have it figured out."

"That's a long way away."

"You heard Jon say it a million times- we're Slytherin. We're forever, you and me."


	4. Year 3-4 POV Cas

I'm not normally a talkative person- I usually prefer silence, or at least just listening or half listening to someone else doing the talking. But this is different- it's not fair. This is turning into a one sided argument and I'm not allowed to fight back. Jo and George and Ruby and everyone who isn't Slytherin are all stupid and normally that's enough for me to say. But this is different: Jo just won't shut up. She's going on and on and on about a party that happened nearly a month ago. And at first I was appalled, and I could tell Fred was too. The party Jo is going on about is apparently a tradition- how the Gryffindor House celebrates the sorting. Sorting was weeks ago, and no one- least of all me- cares anymore. More than that though is that they seem so open about it. Me and Fred wouldn't dare bring that night up, even just between ourselves. Especially not with people from other houses.  And I'm having trouble dealing with this now.

We're all out in the courtyard, on our way out towards Hagrid's Hut. Not that we're looking for Hagrid, but it's just that we kinda need some space. It's weird, since classes we haven't hung out much. There's this...tension, in the school. Something new, never really felt it before. The Houses seem more sperate, in a way. More Gryffindors only hang with Gryffindors, and Slytherin with our own, and Ravenclaws keeping to themselves, and even Hufflepuffs aren't as outgoing. Our little group of five is noticeably the most diverse in the school, at least that we can tell. I don't know why it's happening, but even I'm starting to feel the effects. Or maybe that's just frustration over Jo.

"We're obviously the best House. _Waaaay_ more fun than _Slytherin_ , ugh. We had a party and food and like half the House was drunk. It was wild," she explains far too loudly for my taste. We're outside so I can hear her voice echoing across the grounds.

"Shut _up_ , Jo! You're house is hardly the best, and parties are stupid anyway. No one cares!" I finally shout. The smile that spreads across her face clues me in that she's been bating me. She's looking for a fight. I kick myself for not realizing, but it's too late now. Now there's no going back, and everyone knows it.

"Oooo, someone's touchy, aren't they? Is it because you're jealous, right? I'd be jealous too, don't worry. Everyone's jealous of us," she taunts. I know I shouldn't, but I let her suck me in, and Fred hops to my defense- our defense, really.

"Why would we be jealous? We're clearly the superior House- in everything really: quidditch, academics, _class_ ," Fred says. Jo sneers and George steps up to be toe to his with is brother.

"Class? Who needs it? We've got Harry Potter," he smirks. Fred leers at him.

"I'm pretty sure I could kick that kid's ass, even without a wand," I say. Jo raises her eyebrows. My hand tightens around my wand beneath my robe, and Jo sees. She puffs herself up, making herself taller than me.

"Throw the wand down, Cas, let's see you try," she challenges. At this point, Ruby breaks her silence.

"No! No no no. Let's not. I mean- you don't need a wand, Cas. And no fighting, Jo," she races, while pushing herself in between the twins. Jo relaxes herself, but I don't let go of my wand; instead keeping it by my side. But I don't raise it.

"Well, we still had a awesome party. Slytherin can't say that," Jo points out, in the most annoying, fight provoking way she could. And that does it for me.

_"Incendio!"_ I shout, whipping my wand. Jo's sleeve catches fire, and she throws it off and laughs. She holds up her wand and we circle each other.

_"Stupefy!"_ she shouts, and her stunning charms hits me on my arm. It feels like a massive punch and I take a step back. Two can play at that game. I cast the stunning spell right back at her, putting all of my anger into it. She goes to dive at my waist, but it actually works out for me better because I catch her right in the legs. She drops like a stone at my feet, and next thing she knows I'm looking down at her with a satisfied smirk. I become aware that Fred and George are cheering us on at this point, each holding Ruby by one of her arms, keeping her from interfering. She kicking her legs and shouting at us to stop, but I'm not done until Jo surrenders. I turn my focus back to her.

"You're on you ass, Jo. Ready to admit you're not the superior House? That Slytherin is better in every way?"

"We're all equal!" Ruby shouts from the sidelines, prompting George to cover her mouth. While I'm still watching them, I hear a roar and Jo pounces up, tackling me. I try to roll her off but she has me pinned by the shoulders. I dropped my wand, so I can't do anything no matter how hard fight. She's laughing down at me.

"On your ass, Cas?" I throw my knee up and it miraculously makes contact with her stomach, prompting a moan a pain, but she doesn't get off or let up.

"Nice one," she winces, "but it'll take more than that to get me off." I keep struggling but it's not working. Then suddenly she falls to the side- Fred pushed her off. George and Ruby are quickly by my side getting me up and returning me my wand. I brush myself off and see Fred got Jo up too, finding her scorched robes and returning them to her. It's all silent for a second, until me and Jo start cracking up. I fall back and just sit in the grass laughing until I cry. Ruby's not laughing, but she's smiling a little at least. I think she found it more entertaining then she's letting on. Fred sits down next to me, but Jo and George say they have to run and get ready for a quidditch meeting. I ask Ruby to sit but she has a club or class or something to get to. Me and Fred end up alone, and after a second decide there are probably better places to hang out than on a hill near Hagrid's Hut. We get up and turn towards a tunnel that leads back to the castle, and in the shadows I see someone moving. They're running away from us.

"Shit! Fred, get that kid, I think they saw!" I gasp, pushing him towards the tunnel. He breaks away and runs, quickly catching up and grabbing the kid. It takes me a second before I reach them, but I recognize who it is.

"You're the girl from the train!" I accuse, and she doesn't deny it. The crazy haired one, Hermione. She's a Gryffindor.  Fred and I essentially corner her, and she sits on a bench looking into her lap where she has a pile of books.

"Hermione?" I ask. I try to keep my voice even but it's not really working, between the adrenaline rush from the fight, running over here, and honestly being ticked off she may have been spying. Fred gives me look, so I step back and let him take the lead.

"Hey, Hermione, remember me? I'm Ron's brother. You're his friend, right?" She looks up, her eyes wide and eyebrows raised. She's surprised.

"No, actually, I'm not his friend," she says defiantly. Fred and I share another look, concerned this time because it sounds like Ron might be a little bit of a shit, in the bullying way.

"Oh," Fred says, otherwise at a loss for words, "well then, I gotta ask- you see what just happened between me and my friends over there?" She looks down into her lap again and nods slightly. I make a noise of annoyance, and her head shoots back up and she looks me in the eyes.

"I'm going to report you to Proffessor McGonagall for improper and violent use of magic against a fellow student," she spits out. I'm impressed she's talking to me like that, and angry that she thinks she can.

"No, you're not," I threaten. Fred shoves me back another step and gets between me and Hermione.

"Hey, now- no need for that. We were just having some fun, no one got hurt," he tries, assuming that kindness will persuade her to back down. I roll my eyes, not that he can see.

"She lit that girl on _fire,"_ Hermione says, looking over Fred's shoulder at me, "How old are you, even? Elemental magic isn't taught until fourth year," she says. There's something in her voice other than an accusation...admiration? All those books, sitting out here alone- she's a nerd. A know it all. An over achiever.

"Hey, then," I pipe up. Fred gives me warning side glance over his shoulder, but I push him out of the way. "Hey then, how about you don't go to McGonagall , and I teach you the fire spell. I learned it by accident, but last year got the real incantation and everything. I'd be _happy_ to teach you." I get a little sappy on the last part, trying too hard to win her over. Fred makes a face like he's trying not to laugh while also scrutinizing me, and Hermione can tell I'm not quite genuine. But she also knows I'm the real deal.

"Fine," she responds in a haughty way. I smirk. She's got a little rule breaker in her after all. It takes me a few minutes to just demonstrate in a controlled way how to cast it. I try to use Fred as a target, but Hermione won't go for it. So I just mark out a patch of grass in the shadowy corner outside the tunnel. After showing her, I teach her the incantation and pronunciation and how to hold and move her wand. She's a fast learner, and gets it on her first try. I'm impressed with her, and Fred's impressed with me, that I can keep myself in control so well and also teach her without offended her or harming him. Once she has it down, I'm ready to let her go.

"Alright, we had a promise. You've got the spell, so you keep what you saw to yourself. Keep the spell to yourself too, while you're at it. You're a good witch," I tell her, picking up her books and handing them to her, giving her a little shove on the back, and she starts walking towards the castle. She doesn't say anything, but I trust her. She owes me, and if she tries anything I have the Map. I'll know where to find her.

"And give Ronald hell if he tries anything!" Fred shouts after her. She doesn't react, even though she obviously heard him. There must be something pretty off between them. I don't know Ron, but if he's anything like his brothers I don't know how he could be so bad as she seems to think he is. It's not my worry though.

"Come on, we better get back," Fred says, pulling me by my arm towards the castle. We walk real slow and quiet, just enjoying ourselves. When we get into the castle wee decide to go straight to the dorms. I'm tired, I don't know about Fred. I'm just not in the mood for George or Jo, anyways- giving them time alone might be just what they need. Fred and I end up doing homework in the common room through the rest of the afternoon.

"You got beat pretty bad," he says out of nowhere, looking up from his book. I look at him, confused. "With Jo, I mean, she beat you today. I had to physically rescue you. You never thanked me, by the way."

"I was fine!" I snap defensively, prompting him to laugh. "If I had had my wand..." I trail off, and there's silence for another minute. "How exactly would you have me thank you, anyway? You made me look like I couldn't help myself."

"You couldn't though, could you?" He laughs, "And let me think...would a kiss be out of the question?" He asks, clearly teasing. I kick his leg under the table and he starts cracking up. "Are you _blushing_ , Cas? I thought that was Jo's thing, not yours." I don't know if I was really blushing before, but there's no doubt I am now.

"Piss off," I tell him, but I start laughing too. People are starting to leave for dinner in the Hall, so we get up and follow. At dinner Fred tells me about how Slytherin's quidditch is starting up, and how he thinks the team is doing. I try to look over to Gryffindor to see if I can see Jo or George, and I don't- but I catch Lee's eye and we wave to each other.  I haven't seen him as much this year, but we made a promise last year that I'd sit with him in the commentator's booth during all the quidditch matches. He makes them a lot more fun for me, since all my other friends but Ruby play. This year I'm actually excited for the Quidditch season, which surprises me. Before it starts though, we gotta get through October. I'm excited for Halloween, it's always a fun time- only like a week or two away now.

  
 


	5. Year 3-5 POV Jo

"Cas-Cas-Cas-Cas-Cas-CAS!" I shout, and she finally stops talking at looks at me, wide-eyed looking frantic. She opens her mouth, but before she can start talking again I put my hand up.

"Shut up, calm down. This doesn't have to be a bad thing," I say slowly, calmly. She doesn't move, doesn’t react. She’s waiting for me to come up with a solution. I don’t see the need for one, personally. It's a week before Halloween, which is Cas's favorite holiday. She’s been waiting for this Halloween since last Halloween. She likes Halloween because that’s when we pull all the stops on having fun and playing pranks and doing whatever we want. Normally we have a plan; a course of action. But not this time. This year George and Fred and I have been busy with Quidditch, Cas and Fred with studies, especially divination, and Ruby with...something Hufflepuff related, I guess. Not that she’s really into our pranks anyway. The point is, no one came up with a plan for this Halloween, and Cas is upset. She’s down to the wire and not handling it well. She’s been just spitting out different ideas for what seems like hours. Fred and George are like half-asleep listening to her, and I’m just kinda ignoring the words and enjoying her insanity.

"Cas, maybe this year...maybe we don't do anything. I mean, would it be that big a deal?" Fred asks. I hit my forehead. This was the absolute worst thing anyone could have said to calm her down. Yes, it was a big deal. Almost as big as the trolley on the Hogwarts Express.

"Yes this is a big deal, Fred! This is everything! This is our legacy, what the people will remember us by! People need to remember us after we’re gone! This is it for us, if we stop now we'll never start up again, we'll lose the edge we've worked so hard to get!" She would have kept going but I spoke up.

"Cas! Hey!" She's breathing heavy and too worked up. I cant tell if she's just being dramatic or if she really means what she's saying.

"Cassidy, really- you need to calm down," George tells her.

"No!" She shouts back.

"You threatened to poison a teacher!" He yells.

"Maybe it would be funny!" She tries, desperately. But she falters even as she tries to defend herself. At this point we all know she’s lost her battle. We all expect her to stop there, and there’s a moment of silence me and the twins appreciate immensely. Then she starts whining again.

“No, you know I’m right. Me and Fred- in divination you looked, today- didn’t you? Looked in the leaves and saw something?” Fred bites his lip, and I honestly don’t know whether the bad news is about to be for me or for Cas.

“I- I-” he stammers.

“Fred’s always right about this, and we all know it,” Cas says with full confidence.

“I didn’t see anything, Cas,” Fred finally gets out, and I sigh with relief.

“No- no, you told me you saw something!” Cas gasps. Fred avoids her gaze.

“Well, yeah- but not a sign or anything. The ball just showed that Halloween is going to be Halloween- ghosts, monsters, the lot. I didn’t see us in it. I’m sorry,” he says, and he really means it. If I delivered news like that she’d have pulled her wand on me, but not Fred, no. She doesn’t feel the need to physically threaten him. I bite back a smile, remembering our fight on the grounds the other week.

Cas’s mouth keeps going- she’s still pushing for it. I’ve had enough so I stand up and leave. George catches up to me, and I hear Cas and Fred’s voices rise behind us. They’re fighting, and she’s not going to drop it. Me and George laugh, glad that we left.

* * *

 

So it's Halloween, and I've got George by the robes and I'm pulling him through the corridors trying to get to the Great Hall for dinner. I'm not super hungry or anything, I'm just trying my best to get to the Gryffindor table before Cas can find us. It's been weeks now of her complaining about Halloween and how we don't have a prank planned and all. I swear Fred's about to break, maybe George too. I refuse to let that happen, I have a few hours to get through and then this whole stupid mess will be behind us. We turn the corner and I see the doors to the Great Hall wide open, the home stretch. I'm running now, as best I can with a grip on George, until out of nowhere it feels like someone steps on my foot, and me and George go flying forward. 

“There you are!” I hear the familiar shout.  I groan out of both pain and annoyance, while Cas helps me up. Fred comes a second later and gets his brother to his feet.

“Did you just _hex_ me?” I demand from Cas. She scrunches her eyebrows in annoyance and shakes her head.

“Of course not! Do you even know what a hex is? That was a charm, and a weak one at that, and this is important. I almost didn’t see you guys! We need to talk about what we’re gonna do. It’s Halloween!”

“We’re well aware, Cassidy-” George sighs, “-which is exactly why Jo was pulling me so hard through the school. We’re not doing anything, okay? Maybe next year,” he tells her. I’m brushing off my robes and checking my stockings for holes when I hear it. A little sniffle. I take a deep breath in and close my eyes. I straighten up to see Cas, pink in the face, seconds away from crying. I don’t believe she’s doing this. I’m about to call her bluff, but Fred speaks up first.

“No- no, Cas. Please don't,” he says, putting a hand on her arm. She doesn't shrug it off, but covers her face with her hands, muffling the sound of more sniffles. I look to warn George that this is all a sham- it has to be, I’ve never in all our years together seen Cas actually cry. But one look at George and I see he’s buying it too.

“Come on, Cassidy. Not here- you’re gonna make a scene. Come on, now. Cassidy?” She doesn't respond, and Fred pulls her into a hug.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually buying this?” I plead.

“Shut up, Jo!” The twins snap. This isn't real. This is a nightmare. George is hugging her too now, and I just give up, watching this mess- this massive lie, play out. The boys stop hugging her and she drops her hands away from her face and there are tear stains on her cheeks. There are people pushing around us going into the Great Hall, and its getting close to time for the feast. I make a face at George to say as much.

“Look, Cassidy- no more tears, okay?” He says to her, “We’ll come out of the Great Hall halfway through the feast and we’ll do something-”

“Anything,” Fred cuts in, “We’ll pull something out of our asses if we have to. It’ll be great, promise.”  Cas gives a little nod and another sniff, wiping her eyes and giving a sad smile. The twins nod at each other and at me, and I sigh heavily. It’s not like it won’t be fun, I guess. I just refuse to believe this wasn’t an act, or a scam. Fred takes Cas by the arm and starts walking her into the Great Hall, towards the Slytherin table. I don’t say anything, but I swear I see Cas smirking and damn near skipping as they leave me and George.

“I can’t believe you’re supporting this,” I mutter at him as we make our way towards the Gryffindor table.

“ _I_ can’t believe you just stood there while she was crying- you're supposed to be her best friend,” he says, and I’m taken aback for a second before I see him snicker. Then I know we’re still cool, that he didn't really mean it, and we find a place at the table. As we go, lot’s of people, especially girls, are calling for George to sit with them. He’s really popular, between the Quidditch and our popularity as pranksters. And I guess he’s not that bad looking, either. He turns them all down so that we can sit with all his brothers. They always do that on days with big feasts and celebrations. I’ve taken to sitting with them, which is a little awkward though, since it sometimes feels like I’m replacing Fred. There’s a little consolation in the fact that apparently Fred is just as popular in Slytherin as George is here. George gets a seat next to Ron, and I’m in between George and Percy. Both me and George stiffen up a little when we sit down, seeing that Ron brought Harry Potter to sit with him. 

I liked Harry enough at first, and it was cool having a living legend in my House, but that quickly got old. For some unknown reason, McGonagall pushed Oliver into letting Harry on the Quidditch team- and not just like as a sub or anything- she made the kid Seeker. I was way pissed at her for it- if I’d been allowed to try out first year I so could have made it, but no. She just makes exceptions for The-Boy-Who-Lived. That news was softened a little by the fact that we were technically in need of a new Seeker, and it helped us cool off that Oliver was ready to throw anyone off the team who treated Harry wrong. I get team loyalty and all- but I felt a little betrayed by Wood. He was supposed to be loyal to us, the ones he’s been teammates with for a year or more now. Not this new kid. The news of Harry’s joining our team was worsened by the fact that a few days ago, a couple owls arrived carrying this huge package for Harry. It was a new broom, and not just any new broom, but the best, newest one on the market. No one knows where or who it came from, just that it made him stand out even more than before.

We still haven't had a practice with him, but that’ll start soon enough. I honestly don't know how it’ll go- I mean, everyone's had secret little talks about how unfair this is, but he’s Gryffindor, and he’s on the team, and apparently he’s actually pretty good too. I’ll just have to wait and judge that for myself I guess. But right now me and George can’t exactly talk about it, with him being right here and all. Instead the Weasleys talk about Weasley things, and I try to keep up and get my two cents in whenever I can. 

Dumbledore’s given his holiday talk, and the food appears and we all start eating. Everything’s great, as usual. Me and George keep glancing over to the Slytherin table, waiting for Cas and Fred to get up, so we can follow. I have no idea what Cas expects us to do, and planning something worthwhile so last minute isn't exactly an easy thing to do. Before anything can happen, theres a long noise, and the entire Great Hall turns its attention to the door, where Professor Quirrell has just run in. He doesn't look so good. 

“Troll! There’s a troll, in the dungeon! Troll!” he shouts, before collapsing. The entire Hall erupts in chaos. Me and George look at each other, panicked.

“You-you don't think she actually-?” I ask, but George’s eyes just widen. I can tell we’re thinking the same thing. We jump up and push our way through the crowd outside into the corridor while Professors are trying to yell instructions and prefects are trying to keep control. We see Fred and Cas off to the side and make our way over. Fred has Cas by the hair, and she’s yelping. We get over and Fred lets go of her.

“Did you _poison_ Professor Quirrell? What were you thinking, Cas? Youre gonna get expelled!” I yell, hitting her repeatedly on the arm. She’s shrinking away from me, while trying to say something back. I finally stop to hear her out.

“I didnt do that! I like Professor Quirrell, you idiots! You're the ones who want to hurt him, not me! I had nothing to do with this,” she barks. I look at her, and then at the twins. We have our own moment of silence while streams of our classmates are pouring out of the Great Hall, led by prefects shouting directions. Cas grabs me and Fred by the robes and tells George to follow while she pulls us around a corner where people won't notice us.

“I swear- you gotta believe me- I had absolutely nothing to do with this. Which means-” she starts.

“There’s actually a troll in the dungeon?” Fred asks, his jaw dropping.

“It’s that, or squirrely Quirrel went over the deep end,” I say.

“He said the dungeon…” George adds. We all stare at each other. And a moment later we’re running down the corridors towards the dungeon. We get down the first flight of steps and look into a couple of potions classrooms and storage rooms, but we don't find anything. None of us can mask our disappointment. We keep going down more and more flights of stairs, getting closer and closer to where Fred says the Slytherin common room and dorms are.

It wouldn't be there, and we all know it. Prefects were leading kids to the dorms. We slow down, and realize that not only is there no troll, but also that we missed our opportunity to pull a prank of our own. Fred and Cas slowly start going down to their common room, while me and George head back up towards ours. We’re going up in sad silence when we hear it- footsteps. And not human. Louder, and heavier. We look at each other and get ourselves up to the next level. and there it is, in an open corridor of the dungeons. Like eight feet tall, blueish green and covered in warts and smelling like shit and just walking there, lugging a club behind it. I gasp and George’s hand lands smack on my mouth- he’s grabbing me from behind and slowly backing us down the stairs again.

“Oi! What’re you two still doing here?” I hear Fred ask from behind us. George lets go of me and whips around, and I don’t hear him say anything but before I know it I’m being pushed right back up so Fred and Cas can see the troll. It’s still there, doing nothing much of anything. It doesn't even look that dangerous- scary, sure- but not dangerous.

“This is what Quirrell was so freaked out about?” Cas whispers, and the rest of us mutter agreement under our breath. This is nothing. We’re all crouching, but I feel George stand himself up behind me.

“Don’t be stupid- get back down,” Fred hisses.

“Youre the one being stupid- shut up or it’ll hear us,” George rebuts. Fred tries to pull his brother back into a crouch, but somehow George ends up getting a grip on my ponytail and tugs down as he falls to his knees- and before I can stop myself I yelp in pain. We all snap our heads to see the troll, just as it snaps its head to see us. It bellows and starts lumbering towards us. It takes a few seconds for it to speed up, but once it gets its momentum it’s actually kinda fast. We start booking it up the stairs. We can hear and feel it behind us, and Cas- the slowest of us- somehow ended up in the back of the line, screaming bloody murder. George, who’s right in front of her, grabs her arm and throws her ahead of himself to me, who pushes her up to Fred, who all but picks her up. With that we’re all still terrified, but at the same time a lot more comfortable knowing our weakest link isn’t definitely going to die.

We get up out of the dungeons and make a random turn. I can still feel it behind us, so I turn again next chance I get. I’m banking on the fact that, like Quidditch players, the troll has slight trouble turning and needs to slow down. At some point I ended up leading the group, and looking behind my shoulder for a second I see Fred and Cas running right behind me, and George bringing up the rear. We keep running until I feel myself slowing down. I turn around again, and realize that we’re all tired, and all alone. Somewhere along the line the troll either lost our trail or lost interest.  I can’t say I actually care which. We all four drop to the ground and just sit in the middle of a corridor. We’re all panting, but while me and the twins look energized, Cas looks miserable. She’s red and sweaty looking- which I guess I probably look like that too, but it’s not a good or natural look on her. She’s not saying anything, which is slightly concerning.

“You okay, Cas?” I ask in between big breaths.

“Yeah, friend Jo, we’re all great. So glad you’re concerned for our safety and wellbeing,” George says sarcastically. Meanwhile Cas just stares at me and eventually shakes her head. I don’t know why, but I start laughing at that. Like, cracking up. I’m the only one, but I can’t stop.

“What was worse, then, Cas- the troll, or the exercise?” I wheeze.  Fred looks shocked I asked that, and even George doesn’t find it amusing the way he normally would.

“Are you crazy?” Cas asks, then pauses. “The running, you idiot!” she pants. “The troll _*breath*_ is the best prank _*breath*_ I’ve ever seen,” she finishes. At this all four of us start laughing, rolling on the floor and everything.

“Did you do this for me?”Cas asks us. We all shake our heads, which brings on another bout of laughter from Cas. After we all calm down, we split up and return to our common rooms. Me and George take the long trek up to Gryffindor, where we enter as inconspicuously as we can. We’re pretty successful because there’s a crazy amount of chaos in the common room. People are yelling and arguing and crying everywhere, so me and George just slip into the chaos as best we can. We meet up with Lee and Angela, who aren’t concerned about the troll, but are talking about the Quidditch season. It’s a simple enough transition for us, although I’m a little distracted, as it crosses my mind that if Cas didn’t put the troll there, and me and the twins didn’t do it, then who did?


	6. Year 3-6 POV Cas

There's a charge in the air, but not the good kind. It's like tension. I'm afraid to bump into anyone, thinking there'll be a shock. That's not working out, I'm getting pushed and poked and prodded left and right. I'm trying to climb up the stadium- trying to get to Lee in his commentator's box. I promised I'd sit with him- don't really have anyone else today. Slytherin is playing Gryffindor in Quidditch, so Fred, Jo, and George are all gone. I asked Ruby if she wanted to sit together, but she turned me down flat out. Said as much as she'd like to be with me, she owed it to her House to sit with them. As shocked as I was, in hindsight I can't really blame her. Well- of course I can, and I do, and I'll do something about it, but the point is: it isn't entirely her fault. There's this thing going on between the Houses this year. It all started after sorting, and me and some others think it's because of Harry Potter. There's always been House loyalty, but it's gone up a few notches. People between Houses aren't hanging out anymore. Roo totally broke off our friendship, and I'm not seeing as much of Jo and George anymore. It's a real shame too- I was just started to not completely hate George.

I keep trying to push my way through the crowd, and I curse my unfortunate height impediment. I'm relatively short, not exactly well built, and even my voice, which can be intimidating when I try, isn't loud enough to be heard over the chatter and shouting of the masses. I'm going as fast as I can, when someone bumps into me from the side and I nearly go down. Luckily someone catches me by the arm- I look up and nearly thank Jo, who usually is in charge of keeping my clumsiness in check, but it's a different face meets my gaze. She's tall, long wavy hair that's got a golden look to it in the sunlight, and a warm smile. I get my balance again and thank her. I see her yellow scarf and realize she's Hufflepuff like Roo.

"Cas?" I hear my name from a few rows up, and in an instant Lee is hopping down by my side. "Charlie! Well aren't you looking spectacular today. Good reflexes- Cas is harder to catch than a snitch, and twice as destructive as a bludger," Lee says to the girl. My face flushes as he takes my hand and guides me up to the commentator's box and sits me down.

"Who was that?" I ask him. He smiles and shakes his head laughing, a if I made a joke.

"Jealous of the attention I gave her, Cas? Don't worry, you're my best girl outside of Gryffindor." I roll my eyes and he laughs again. "It was Charlie- Charlotte. She's a new addition to the Hufflepuff Quidditch team- chaser. Very good, I hear. Nice girl. Nice ass," he smirks, prompting me to hit him. Then he jumps up and starts shouting into his mic- the players are taking the pitch. Gryffindor is debuting their new Seeker- Harry Potter. Jo was pissed about that, made it very clear to me and anyone else dumb enough to say they'll listen. I'm not sure I see her point- I mean, I get that he's a first year and all, but if he's as good as they say, why shouldn't he be on the team?

I don't have the opportunity to ask Lee, because the match is starting. He's shouting out names and positions and giving a general play by play of what's happening. I try my best to follow- I lock in on Fred's blur of orange and green and follow it around. He's playing heavy on protecting the Slytherin chasers, but the other beater is a little more aggressive- trying to mess up the Gryffindor's offensive plays. Our seeker is looking good I guess; I never really figured out how to recognize when a seeker is doing their job right. All I can say is that our seeker looks better than Potter- the kids just kinda hovering above the fray looking confused. He starts moving around a bit- saw the snitch, maybe?- but nothing is really coming of it. Slytherin is winning so far, racking up a fair amount of points pretty quickly.

So the match is regular for awhile. Lee screaming into the mic with his usual excitement, McGonagall chastising him once in awhile to no avail. Fred and Jo and George all looking good out there. But then something happens- there's kind of a quiet that sets in, everyone can feel it, something's wrong. I hear whispers at first, and start trying to look around and find out what's wrong, then the shouting begins: everyone's calling Harry's name. I look around frantically and finally see him- he's going berserk. He has no control over his broom, it's like the thing is trying to throw him. Lee picks up on it and starts shouting out, bringing Harry to the attention of Jo and George. I'm obviously too far away to hear them, but I can see they're communicating. They leave what they were doing before and go to Harry's aide. There's not much they can do but hover around him and prepare to catch him if he gets thrown. Everyone's eyes are glued on Harry until I feel a shove from next to me- someone jumped back into me from their seat. I try to look around them, but I smell it before I see it- smoke. Snape is standing up from his seat stomping on the corner of his robes, which caught on fire. People are panicking around him, between Harry's broom going crazy and random fires popping up, no one is sure what's going on. A bunch of other teachers are jumping up, probably going to cast a spell to help him or something, but it was a small fire and Snape gets it out on his own, only to sit down as composed as ever, although his face gives away some annoyance. He returns his attention promptly to the match. I was sort of surprised- he never struck me as a Quidditch fan. I keep looking over at him when I see it- a little movement from beneath the stands right under us. There's someone down there. A flash of brown- a brunette. Brunette, a fire, magic. I think I know what's going on, and I'm furious.

I'm about to get up and go when I realize the match is back to normal, but with a lot more tension. At some point while I was distracted by the fire, Harry regained control of his broom. He's now whipping around, obviously he has a plan or sees the snitch or something. Our Seeker is right on his tail, and everyone's shouting. They're neck and neck, and I see our Seeker shoving Harry. I know basically absolutely nothing about quidditch- but even I can tell it might be more than a little illegal. Maybe not though, Quidditch is a rough sport. I stop thinking about it when I see our Seeker falling back. Harry gets an edge, but he's getting pretty low to the ground. I see him reaching, the snitch just centimeters away, but he can't reach it. Everyone in front of me is standing up and I get up on my tip toes to see, just as Harry does something so incredibly stupid I wouldn't even have expected it from George. The kid gets on his feet- standing on his broom while he rides it closer to the snitch. That idiot! But after a second without falling, everyone is screaming with excitement or holding their breath. Maybe he can do it.

There's a collective gasp when the twiggy little Seeker loses his footing and goes flying forward, rolling for a meter or two along the ground. It's a miracle he flew as low as he was, or he'd have probably broken his next. He's just sitting there, and everyone but Lee is quiet. Lee is narrating the whole thing with a little too much enthusiasm, and if I weren't so focussed on Harry I'd most likely hit him. But Harry gets up and I think he's okay- but no, he's clutching his stomach. He's going to be sick, as Lee puts it over the microphone. I'm leaning forward as far as I can to see, and then Harry makes this heaving motion and I turn away and shut my eyes. There's screaming all around me. I open my eyes expecting the worst- a blood bath or Harry dead or something, but no- he's standing there upright. His hand is lifted, and I see the faint shimmer of the snitch in his hand.

Lee is ballistic. Screaming and shouting Harry's and Gryffindor's praises. I'm floored. The kid did it- outdid anything I'd ever seen before. I hate Quidditch, but even I have this rush of excitement. Lee announces the final score, and it turns out that by catching the snitch, Gryffindor won.

"What! What? We were miles ahead, Lee- you did the math wrong!" I shout at him. He picks me up in a hug, puts me back down and pats my head.

"Oh, you a sore loser, Cas? Thought you didn't care about Quidditch," he mocks, giddy with excitement.

"I- I don't! It's a stupid sport- just-just- ugh!" I groan, not knowing what else to do. Lee just laughs again and starts shouting into the mic. The Gryffindor side of the stadium is going wild. My Housemates aren't so enthusiastic. I'm just plain frustrated, and I know exactly how to deal with it, given my friends aren't around to stop me. Everyone is exiting the stadium, and I make my way to where the Gryffindors are. It takes me a while, but then I see it- that crazy brown frizzball sticking out of the crowd. The Granger girl. I shove my way to get behind her, and as soon as we pass a little entrance to a garden, I grab her by the robes and pull her back into it. I push her against a wall and she makes a little shriek, lost among the celebrations passing by us through the grounds.

"I know what you did, you little rat," I growl. She looks up at me with wide, frightened eyes.

"I-I-" she stutters, but I'm not in the mood to hear her side of the story.

"'Improper and violent use of magic _my ass_ ," I spit at her, "you lit Professor Snape on fire today. Thought you could get away with it. I'm no snitch- I deal with matters myself. You made me a promise, Granger, and you broke it- now you're gonna pay," I threaten, pulling out my wand. She goes to reach for hers, but I'm faster. I disarm her, and she drops herself to the ground, back against the wall. I see tears in her eyes. My arm drops to my side, wand lowered.

"Scared, aren't you? Good. Next time, I won't stop. Now get up," I tell her, offering my arm. I pull her up.

"Why'd you do it?" I ask her. She looks up at me quite seriously.

"For Harry- he didn't just lose control of his broom. Snape did it. I stopped him."

"You're wrong," I tell her gravely, "Snape would never do that."

"I did what I thought was right." I give her a little nod and a nudge out the door so she can run and catch up with her friends. I take a second to just breathe. I refuse to believe Snape was involved, but when I think about it, it's difficult. Harry's supposed to be a brilliant flyer, and his losing control was weird. Suspicious. And then he got control again right after Granger set Snape on fire. It's plausible...but no. He wouldn't do that. I tuck my wand away and turn to exist the garden. I turn out to find the crowd when I hear a voice from behind me.

"What the hell _was_ that?" Lee whispers. I whip around and see him just staring at me. I feel myself trying to speak, but I can't get any words out. My face is flushing again and my hand twitches for my wand. I don't know what to do- how to fix this.

"Cas?" He asks me. He doesn't sound angry I don't think. I can't get a read on him.

"Lee..." Is all I can get out. He takes a few steps closer, but I step back. I contemplate running, but that won't solve anything. I lost Roo, is Lee gonna leave me now? Hate me? He can't. He just can't.

"Lee, please..." He puts a hand up.

"Dammit, Cas," he says slowly and softly, taking another step towards me. I don't back away this time.

"I- I-" I sound like Hermione now. Say something, you idiot! "She-" I begin.

"No, Cas. It's...it's..." It's over, I know it. I feel everything building up inside me- anxiety, frustration, fear. I wasn't even that close with Lee, but I can't stand to think he'll hate me now.

"It's okay, Cas. It's okay." I look up at him, shocked.

"It is?"

"Yeah, Cas. You're not a bad person- that's not you. You had a reason. Tell me you had a reason. When you're ready. Okay?" I nod quietly. It shouldn't be okay. Even I know what I just did wasn't okay. Fred and George and Jo would have stopped me. But Lee says it's okay. He likes me in spite of...this. It's okay. I don't explain myself yet. There'll be time for that. We walk in silence back to the castle, side by side. I decided not to tell any of the other three what happened, but I don't dare ask Lee not to. I'm not gonna ask anything of him. He said it's okay. I'd rather die than do anything to risk losing that.


	7. Year 3-7 POV Jo

Cas keeps looking over her shoulder, paranoid as all hell for absolutely no reason. Well, I guess she sorta has a reason, but not a good one. Well, not in my mind, at least. We're walking around Hogsmede, not for the first time this year- not even the first time this winter. But this is the first time we've come here when we're actually allowed here. I'm enjoying every second, walking freely and all but basking in the sunlight despite how cold it actually is. Meanwhile Cas has her cloak wrapped tight around her, hood up and everything. She looks ridiculous, and I'm glad for both her sake and mine she's hiding her face. George and Fred are with us too, obviously. While Cas does her thing we're all talking about Quidditch and the crazy match where Harry's broom went nuts on him. Needless to say, Gryffindor won anyway. We're just that good.

"Cas!" I hear a familiar shout from behind us. Cas jumps three feet in the air and almost starts running, but Fred grabs her by the hood, revealing her face and almost choking her. George and I nearly fall down laughing, just as Lee catches up to us. He's being hanging out a lot more Cas since the Quidditch match, which is funny since they're such opposites. As fun as Lee is most of the time, he has his weird moments. Like all his commentating during the Quidditch matches are fun and funny, but out of the box he's almost too much. Loud and flirty and all. But when he's around Cas he calms down and seems a little more natural. Cas catches her breath and calms down when she realizes it was only Lee, and we all start trying to make a plan for the afternoon. Cas and Lee are talking mostly to each other, as are me and George. Fred is kinda caught in the middle of Cas and George. I suggest we go to Zonko's joke shop, and Cas pretends she didn't hear. The twins are all for it, though, and I say to Cas and Lee that they can do what they like, but we're leaving. She turns defiantly, dragging Lee away with her.

"Fine then, don't expect any gifts or anything from me!" I shout after her, and she waves her hand back at me dismissively. George nudges me and we start off to Zonko's. It's nice walking around freely and waving at everyone we recognize. We finally get to the joke shop and start looking around. At first I think it's paradise- pranks of every kind everywhere around us. I'm grabbing this at random, testing things they'll let me touch, and being mildly sneaky with the things that aren't actually putting out for testing. But after a few minutes I find something I actually really want, so I check the price. I drop the thing, and it would've shattered if Fred hadn't been here to catch it. He dives and catches it clean, giving his Quidditch grunt as he goes.

"Oi! More careful, ferret, I don't keep butterfingers on my team," I hear from outside the window of the shop. I look up and there's Oliver, laughing alongside some upper class Gryffindors. Fred stands up as I run out the door to see Oliver. I had no idea he'd be here. I remember seeing him on or twice last year during our excursions, and having to hide my face- but this time it's okay. I catch up to him and he laughs, giving me a high five and giving my braid a tug. I swat his hand and he taps me on the nose with his other hand, and I burst out giggling, which really isn't me...except when I'm with Oliver. We walk along just a bit talking about Quidditch when I remember I left the twins behind. I tell Oliver I have to go, and he promises me some more one on one time on the pitch. As I run back to the joke shop I hear his friends whispering to each other and to him, and I look back to see I'm getting some weird glances. They're just jealous, I guess. I mean, I know my place, I'm not overstepping or anything. Not trying to, at least.

I'm so lost in thought that I run right by the joke shop, and get myself turned around. As I'm wandering, trying to find my way again, I see a familiar face. Well, I see plenty, but only one I have business with- I see Ruby. And she's not alone, she's got some guy by her side. That's not going to stop me from giving her what's coming.

"Hey! Hey, Ruby! Over here, stop! Ruby!" I yell, trying to catch up to her and the boy. Rub stops and turns to face me, looking confused as I get to her.

"Jolene? Hey...uh...what're you doing?" She asks nervously, her eyes shifting around. The boy with her looks equally uncomfortable.

"You little punk, think you can just abandon me and the twins and Cas? You goddam crushed her, and don't think you can just get away with it- "House loyalty" can go to hell, you owe her a proper apology!" I tell her off, and she looks at her toes, while the boy puts his hands up, trying to get me to quiet down. I look at him and notice the color of his tie- it's blue. Blue and silver. He's a Ravenclaw.

"Seriously, Ruby? A Ravenclaw. Oh, Slytherin isn't good enough for you, and Gryffindor isn't either. But hey, what's "house loyalty" matter when a Ravenclaw is involved?" I spit. She's panicking now, her face red and her eyes glistening with potential tears.

"Jolene- Jolene, stop! We can explain, just calm down!" The Ravenclaw begs. I'm furious now.

"Who are you, even? Think you can just replace Cas?"

"Jo-Jo it's me, don't you recognize? From the train that first year. It's me, Thayer." For a second I honestly have no idea who he is, but then it hits me- the traincar boy, the one I had hit it off with- the one Cas walked out on, when we first met the twins. He had never told me his name.

"Look, Jo, I can explain," Ruby starts, "See- with Harry Potter joining the school, being Gryffindor, it's just...different now. Our Head Boy and Girl told us, said we gotta stick together, all Hufflepuffs for themselves. They said I was too close with the Slytherins and Gryffindors, and I had to cool it down. I didn't, I mean- Cas is- I didn't want to hurt her," she whimpered.

"That doesn't explain _him_ ," I spit, nodding at Thayer. He looks offended but doesn't say anything.

"He-he- I...can I, Thayer, please?” I’m confused as both Ruby and I look to Thayer for an explanation. He sighs deeply before nodding at Ruby, and they both look at me.

“Look, Jolene: you can’t tell anyone. Not _anyone_ \- not Cas or Fred or George or anyone, okay?” I tentatively agree, and Ruby pulls a back from her cloak. She lets me look in, and I see the strangest assortment of things, some of which I can’t even identify.

“What is all this? I don’t understand.”

“It’s...it’s muggle stuff. Like- like muggle writing tools and books and toys. It’s for the muggleborns and the like,” Ruby explains.

“I still don’t understand,” I tell her, my frustration rising again. Before she can answer, Thayer speaks up.

“She’s doing it for me- you gotta understand, it’s all my fault, all my idea. Don’t get mad at Ruby,” he starts, taking her hand in his, “My younger brother- he’s Hufflepuff with Roo. And- and- he’s...my parents, they thought he was a squib.” My attention was mainly on the bag I was holding and sifting through, but when Thayer said that my eyes shot up. I can’t believe it- that’s really serious. I can see in his eyes that he’s not lying- I mean, no one is cruel enough to lie about something like that.

“I-I-” I stutter, not knowing what to say. Thayer’s cheeks are pink, and I know it’s not just from the cold.

“It’s okay. When he was little he never showed signs of magic, not for years. Obviously we just didn’t notice. My parents- they wanted him to be happy and have a normal life- they started raising him for life in the muggle world. And then on his eleventh birthday, the letter came,” Thayer explained. It’s like my heart’s being wrenched, I can’t imagine how hard that must have been on the family.

“He got sorted into Hufflepuff last year. And there were rumors, and he isn’t the best with his magic, but everything was kept cool for a year. Then Harry shows up, and the Houses divide and it’s like everyone’s scared or something. I found Seth- that’s his brother’s name- crying one night outside the common room. The kids were bullying him, harassing him. It was disgusting the way they turned on him. From his own House- the House of the Loyal, too. So I found Thayer, and we...we started this,” Ruby finished, taking back the bag.

“This is all for your brother?” I asked Thayer, and he shook his head sadly.

“No, it started just for Seth, but there are others. Muggle borns who are being discriminated against. In all the Houses. We bring them this stuff to- to comfort them. Help them out when we can, see? You just can’t tell, okay? I don’t know what the administration would say, or the other kids,” Thayer says. I nod gravely.

“I’m sorry about Cas, Jolene, but things are changing. Not for the better. I need to help the muggle borns more than Cas needs another friend. Tell her it’s not personal?” I nod again, and the little couple run off to finish their mission. I’m stunned into deep thought. I walk around for awhile alone, eventually grabbing a butterbeer to just sit down with. I don’t know how much time passes before I hear the twins coming in laughing. I look up and wave them over, and they grab a drink and sit with me. They ask me about where I went, and I just lie and said I’d been hanging out with Oliver and his friends. It’s an innocent enough lie I figure, although George gives me a look like he doesn’t trust me.

“Any luck in Zonko’s?” I ask, trying to change the subject. They shake their heads and George explains that everything was either too much money, or too low quality.

“I could make a better product in Charms- or Cas could with her Potions, and we’d sell them plenty cheaper,” Fred chimes in. I bolt upright- that’s it! The twins stare at me in confusion while my mind churns out the perfect plan.

“We smuggle stuff in, or make it ourselves- and then we sell it in the castle!” I finally say. George smiles excitedly while Fred’s brow furrows.

“No- hear me out: that cheap stuff at Zonko’s, we buy it right? Then we improve it and sell it for profit. Or we just get our own ideas and make them ourselves. The kids at school would love it!” I tell them. George nods with growing enthusiasm.

“We can share the pranks- keep our legacy going!” He says, and after a little more bickering we get Fred on the hook too. By then its about time to get going back to the castle. We never met back up with Cas or Lee, but I figure I’ll see Cas at least before the night is out. I’ll need to get her and the twins all together so we can really take my idea seriously. As we’re walking back I feel sickish- all of the excitement from the joke shop idea with the disgust from what Thayer and Ruby told me. I mean- most of my friends are Gryffindors, I just figured it was natural. But what if there’s more to it? I noticed the tensions between Houses, but never bullying. I resolve to keep my eyes more open, and maybe ask Cas about it. I hate to stereotype, but if anyone was going to be stirring up trouble, I’d bet it was Slytherin. We get to the castle and go to dinner, getting swept up in the normality of Hogwarts life again. George is shoving his face with food and generally goofing off; some of the Quidditch kids are talking strategy; a group of kids in my Charms class are studying; and a group of younger girls are gossiping. I try to tune in to them, to get my mind off of the serious stuff Ruby and Thayer shared with me, but they catch me quick and start giggling. I roll my eyes and turn away, not before hearing them make a crack, “What happened to her, not sitting with her man? I mean, I think he’s a real _keeper_.”


	8. Year 3-8 POV Fred

George yelps, plunging his hands into the snowbank while the burning hunk of plastic falls from his hands. The snow sizzles and steams in his hand, which is bright pink with burns. I look down at my own hands and pull off the gloves I'm wearing- they're burned too, but nothing serious. I pull George up and we laugh, comparing our battle wounds.

"Not so fun, is it, eh?" I ask him with a shove. He shoves right back, but we don't let it escalate, lest we set off an explosion of tampered-with snow globes. Dad had millions of them back home, they were cheap and easy to get a hold of, even in the Wizarding World. We had had ideas back at the Burrow- crazy inventions and the like, but this was our first time really trying something. We were attempting to creating snow globes that, when shaken, actually make it snow out. In the winter it was an innocent enough product to test, we figured. Problem was, my charms were a little off- instead of snow, when we shook the globes they burst into flames. Hence the burns on our hands.

"Once we show Cas, she'll know right what to do," I tell George, but he isn't so hopeful. Cas and Jo are both gone- went home for the holidays. I don't much mind being at the castle, especially since it gives me and George plenty of alone time. I love the girls and having them around, but it's rarely ever just me and my twin anymore. This is refreshing, to me at least. George is perpetually hung up on the gossip of first years in his House.

"I don't know where they're getting it from, Fred. I mean, really? Them two? Dating? It's absurd," he tells me for the millionth time.

"If it's so absurd, why d'ya care so much, then?" I throw back, a little annoyed. He hasn't stopped complaining about this rumor that's been going around since the first Quidditch match of the year- people've been saying that Oliver, the Gryffindor Keeper, is dating Jo. Everyone knows Quidditch teams are a tight knit group, and yeah, everyone's noticed that for a third year Jo gets a lot of respect and attention from some upperclassmen, but I still find it ridiculous to think they're dating. She wouldn't do that-not to George. Between her own good nature and Cas's bizarre drive to get them together, it would never happen, especially without any of us knowing. Unfortunately I'm having trouble convincing George of this.

"Wouldn't you be bothered? Say if Cas were dating someone? Don't tell me you wouldn't be pissed," he challenges, and I'm a little taken aback. Honestly I had never thought of it- of Cas dating. She doesn't much seem like the type to have a boyfriend or go out on dates or anything like that.

"I wouldn't care," I retort, trying to sound calm but coming off defensive, even in my mind. But honestly, why would I care? I shouldn't care, it's none of my business, the same way Jo and Oliver's relationship isn't George's.

"So you don't care then that she's been poking about with a certain Quidditch commentator?" George baits. I scoff.

"Lee? Really, George? Cas isn't the kind to take a boyfriend, 'specially not a Gryffindor, and even more especially not someone so into to Quidditch," I tell him. His eyebrows raise up in slightly surprised amusement.

"Didn't realize you cared so much, Fred. Maybe you should have a talk with Lee then about it," he says. I refuse to believe it. Cas and Lee- them together- it's not a thing.

"Hey, I gotta idea, then. A wager maybe. You 'n me switch spots tonight at dinner- you wear my robes, I wear yours. Lee's stayed here for Holidays too- you can ask him yourself, or just hang about and hear the gossip. Whatever you like, but I know I'm right," George offers.

We shake on it and right there in the open we peel off our wet robes and take off our new Christmas sweaters that mum knit us- a red one with a 'G' for George, and a green one with an 'F' for me. It's a little weird, mum never made green sweaters before. Not that all of them were red, but usually they kept away from colors from the other Houses. The green is just...well, even after three years in Slytherin it's going to take some getting used to.

We switch colors and identities and spend the rest of the afternoon playing catch- or rather, dodge- the flammable snow globes. We decide to stop after George nearly pegs my head with a flying fireball, leaving me with singed hair. We go back into the castle when time for dinner comes, we split up in the Great Hall. I go to one side of the room and sit with the Gryffindors, and George goes to be with my House.

I'm immediately and overwhelmingly aware of how much I don't belong with these people. Maybe three years ago I would have. Probably. Everyone's voices, they're conversation, it's sounds like me- like me a George. Loud and happy, a proper mixture of serious and lighthearted talk. Three years ago I could have thrived here. But I look back to my table, to the see of black and green, where half the conversations are whispered, the things that make them excited don't resolve themselves in shouts but in raised eyebrows and furious dialogues kept under a certain volume.

But right now I'm not Fred, not a Slytherin. I'm George. A Gryffindor. I love the shouting and raising of voices, the playful shoving and such. Lee sits down next to me and I stiffen a bit- this is it, the telling time. Can I pull it off, pass for George? I don't say anything and stare down into my food.

"Oi, George, where've you been all day? Didn't see you at all," Lee asks while pulling as much food as he can grab onto his plate.

"Uhh, uh well, I've been...just, uh with Fred," I stutter nervously, still avoiding eye contact with Lee.

He laughs, prompting me to look up at him. He's smiling into his food, not suspecting anything. Okay, this is good. I can keep going- prove George wrong. But how do I bring it up- Jo _or_ Cas? How would George do it?

"Ugh, I can't bloody take the first years anymore," Lee says suddenly.

"Oh?" I pipe up, deciding not to push anything; to just let Lee talk.

"Yeah, I mean, I love the attention and all, and obviously I'm the best commentator Hogwarts has seen in a long time, but I mean- give me some space, right?" He complains. I just nod and let him keep going, "Like- how should I know if Jo and Oliver are dating? I mean- I _do_ know, but still," he laughs again.

"Hmm?"

"What?"

"Well, _are_ they?" I ask, and Lee nearly spits out his food. He's coughing for almost a minute and I slap him on the back until he grabs a glass of water and gets himself under control.

"Are you alright?!" I ask.

"Ha, are you kidding, man? Best joke I've heard all week. As _if_ Jo and Oliver would actually be dating- I mean, it's fun to gossip about but it's all complete rubbish! And you of all people know that best, eh George?"

"Right, right," I mutter. We eat in silence for a few minutes, Lee chuckling occasionally about what was apparently a very good joke. I still don't get it. So they're not dating, and apparently everyone who's got a head on their shoulders thinks the idea of it is ridiculous. That's good. George'll owe me on that. I guess my job is done, technically...unless I want to ask about Cas. Which I don't- I mean, it doesn't matter to me. I could get up right now, walk away and switch back with George. It would be that easy.

"So, how was it then, with you and Fred today? It must be hard, man, having your twin be Slytherin," Lee says as I'm preparing to get up. I stop myself. It's fate, I guess.

"Uh, it was good. He was, uh, talking about Cas...sidy. Cassidy. Yeah," I catch myself. George never calls her Cas. Usually I don't mind, even think it's kinda funny how much it bothers her, but right now I'm finding it kind of annoying myself.

"Oh, 's that so?"

"Mhmm."

"Little awkward, ain't it?"

"Why's that then?" I ask.

"I mean, weren't you think of moving in on her a bit ways back?"

Now it's my turn to spit and cough and nearly choke. George? Moving in on _Cas_? No. No way.

"No!" I nearly shout.

"Okay, okay. No need to get upset. Just thought I remembered you saying the two of you were actually gonna try being friendly is all."

I give him a little smile through my food and we just sink back into silence for a minute.

"Well, I mean, no offense but I guess I'm kinda glad you're not making a move," he says, quieter than usual.

"Oh?" I ask.

"Yeah, I mean- I was just..."

"Are _you_ thinking of trying something with her?" I ask, more than a little aggressively. He looks down and away and I feel my hand clenching my fork. I didn't- I didn't mean it like that or anything. I'm not angry, why should I be?

"Well, no it's like- well, she and I are friends, but not...it's not like...I was thinking of Fred, actually," he spits out. I'm stunned for a second, but I can't tell whether he's being serious or not. He sounded defensive, panicked, but...what if he was serious?

"Fred?" I ask him.

"Yeah, sure...I mean, doesn't- doesn't Fred like Cas?"

"I, uh, I don't know. It's...possible, maybe, I guess."

"Eh, it's not important, let's drop it," he tries, and starts talking about Quidditch. This is dangerous territory if he starts taking or asking about the Gryffindor team. I'm good at bullshitting, but not that good. First chance I get I stand up, telling him I got to go. He waves me off and I look towards the Slytherin table. I nod at George and I see him get out. We rendezvous in an empty hallways and switch back robes and any House related.

"So?" George asks me.

"So, you owe me," I tell him. His face lights up.

"Ha! So no Jo and Oliver? No Cas and Lee? Damn, how much I owe you? Any amount, you just say," he offers, but I'm not that easy.

"How about an explanation."

"What?"

"Explain to me why Lee is under the impression you're planning on putting the moves on Cas."

Silence.

"...That-that's...that's ridiculous, Fred. I don't- I mean, I wanna be friendly with Cas, that's all. It's just...okay...see- Jo's being kinda distant recently. She's always on about Oliver and Cas is kinda, well, she's a little more there, ya know?"

"Fine, okay."

"Wait."

"What?"

"I thought you said you didn't care."

"I...no, I..." I honesty don't know anymore.


	9. 3-9 POV Cas

What the actual hell is he talking about? I’m trying to focus here- he’s the one who asked me to do this, and now he won’t let me work. I got back to Hogwarts from holiday about a week ago. I walked through the door and not a minute later Fred was hugging me and dragging me around and talking non stop. It was the warmest welcome I've ever received, and there's this warmth in my belly hasn't quite subsided since, but I swear his nagging is turning me ice cold.

"Oi! I got home _a week ago_ , Fred! You were at the door waiting for me like a dog, and haven't left my side since, so no. I haven't talked to George. About anything. Okay?"

"Well yeah, you say that now, but I just mean like, ya know, you'd tell me, right?"

"Tell you what? If I ever talk to your twin brother? No, Fred, I don't think I can promise that. Especially since we’re secretly conspiring against you."

"No, I don't mean-"

"Fred! By God I swear if I get distracted it won't just be your gloves getting burned," I snap, gingerly dropping some more ingredients into my cauldron. Fred had approached me about some convoluted scheme of George's or Jo's or something. They tried to charm snow globes to actually make it snow. Complicated charm, apparently.

"Wait, you okay? You didn't burn yourself, did you?"

 "No, Fred, I'm fine. But we're here without Snape's knowing and I'm really not in the mood to get expelled."

"Expelled? Really, Cas, lighten up! It's just a little potion. But seriously, about George-"

"No more about George! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to set me up with him, and I pray you know better than to do that," I tell him. It shuts him right up, and he goes a little pale, which is weird.

"I- are you...?- I was joking, Fred. Just a joke. I'm sorry, just stressed, okay? This is a hard potion and I don't want to blow up the Dungeons." No response. Dammit, Fred, what is it you want from me? He's always so hard for me to read.  "How about I promise to report straight to you when I'm done, okay? Won't talk to George, even if he ambushes me. Yes?" A small smile and half hearted laugh.  I can live with that. Fred leaves and I get back to focussing on my work. It's not easy, especially with this guilt gnawing at me from the inside out. Cause how am I supposed to tell Fred that yeah, me and George met up without him? And talked about something relatively deep and serious? More importantly, why does Fred care? How did he know it was going to happen?

I yelp as I realize too late my hand was resting on the hot cauldron. Damn those twins, coming after me to help their mischief and then stirring drama up to distract me from the work. Lucky I had some salve ready in case of this, left over from my meeting with George. He had shown me his hands, all burned and pink and irritated looking. I brought him to the Dungeons and made the salve for him. Kept the extra for times like this now. It takes maybe fifteen more minutes and a lot of hard work and sweat, but I finally think I'm ready to test the potion with the snow globes. I pull one out with hands as steady as I can get them. Fred and George both warned me about their sensitivity. I hold it over the cauldron and drop it, flinching away as I do. There's no explosion, so I open my eyes after a second and look into the cauldron. Everything looks the same, so I grab a ladle and spoon out the globe, give it a second to dry off, and then I close my eyes and shake it. My last thought is of my stupid and suicidal tendencies and loyalty to Jo and the twins.

The next thing I know, I feel a cold wet land on my hands and face. I look up to see snow. Real, genuine snow falling from a cloud hovering over my head. I can't help myself from laughing- I did it! No help or instruction or anything! Just me, my book, and my skill. And now the snow. I look around and watch the snow fall and stick to the ground, not fast or anything, but making a nice little dusting on the dark stone floor.

...wait. "Shit shit SHIT!" I shout, slapping a hand over my own mouth a second later as my profanities echo all around me. I can't have a mess like this waiting around for Professor Snape to find. Problem is, I don't know how to stop it. There wasn't instructions or anything- this is an original invention or spell or whatever the hell it is. I shake the globe furiously hoping to reverse the effect, but to no avail. I grab my wand and start yelling at the ceiling to stop, but nothing. I dive into the potions book I had been referencing, but nothing about how to stop the magical snow.

"Bloody _hell_ ," I snarl.

"Such profanity, Walker. I should penalize Slytherin, but I do hate such things," a low voice says from over my shoulder. I whip around to see Snape standing there, arms crossed and glaring right at me. Time feels like it stops as a million lies and escape plans flash across my mind, but nothing seems good enough to make its way to my lips. So instead my eyes widen and my face flushes and I bite my lip.

"Explain, Walker. Now," he demands, and I feel my eyes flash with the heat of frustrated tears. I'm scared and ashamed and guilty and proud all at once, and I can't decide which emotion to give into. Instead of deciding, I focus on holding the tears back. The heat subsides and I look him in the eyes, which is hard when snowflakes are still falling, some sticking to my eyelashes.

"I was...it's a...it was a challenge. I thought I could figure it out. And I did," I say, not quite challenging him but not quite ashamed. I say it like a fact, since it is one. Snape whips out his wand and with one swish the clouds disappear and the snow on the ground evaporates. I gasp and jump a bit but quickly regain my composure, standing quiet with my face staring down at Snape's shoes.

"Walker," he says. I can't tell if it's a question or a command or what, so I just look at his face again. He looks angry, but he always does so that's not a very good indicator of anything.

"What is all this?" He asks again.

"Th- uh- I was trying to see if I could make a snow globe actually cause real snow. I charmed it, but the plastic needed something more- to keep it stable. I found a potion in the textbook and I made it..." I trail off. There's not much else to it, excepting my accomplices. But I'm not about to drag them into this mess, especially if I'm about to get in trouble.

"You're top of your class, aren't you Walker?"

"Yes, sir."

"You have interest in Potions, then?"

"Very much so, sir."

"Next Monday, five o'clock sharp. Be here," he tells me. I nod and he dismisses me. I grab the snow globes, including the functioning one, and leave. I go straight to the Slytherin Common Room. Fred isn't around, probably off with his brother or something. Damn, I forgot about all that. I'll have to deal with it eventually, probably. Maybe not. Who knows? All I know is that I need to be in the Dungeons next Monday after classes to meet with Snape. It doesn't sound like detention, since he didn't take any House Points away. So it must be a good thing, right? Like maybe an advanced private class. Maybe it's a club or something usually only for upperclassmen, but I got invited. I get excited thinking about it. I wait for Fred by the fireplace, throwing the defective globes in one by one. I can't take any more risks in the Dungeons, with whatever Snape has planned for me. If the twins want more, we'll need to set up a cauldron somewhere else. When I threw the first little globe into the fire I was worried there'd be an explosion, but the charm didn't trigger, so I keep tossing them and watching them melt in the green firelight.

When Fred finally shows up it was too late to go out, so we go to bed straight off. The next day I bring him out on the grounds and show him the globe. He is so excited he starts jumping around like a little orange fox in the snow. I laugh and he grabs my hand and we go to get Jo and George. We show them the our little success and sit under our own personal snow flurry. The thing subsides after a full hour of non stop snow, and I kick myself for not trying to figure out the spell Snape used to stop the flurry in the Dungeons.

I tell everyone about my little encounter with Snape and they all assume I have detention, but I know better. They keep making fun of me, so I switch the subject. We start talking about how we're all kind of tired of the winter, and how we can't wait for spring. Obviously with talk of spring the twins bring up their birthday, even though it's well into January, so their birthday is like a little over two months away. They talk about what they want as gifts and me and Jo just laugh. We have plenty of time to plan something for them, although their mischievous grins make me think they might already have a plan of their own.


	10. Chapter 3-10 POV George

Normally I got no trouble falling asleep on the night before my birthday, but this time it's different, and I doubt I'll sleep a wink. It's not like this is a special birthday or anything- I mean, all birthdays are special, sure, but this one isn't like more significant than any other. The difference is that me and Fred decided to change things up this year, get a head start on April Fool's Day pranks. We decided to do another switch. So here I am, lying in Fred's bunk in the Dungeons. I don't much like it- it's far too cold, there's a draft and everything even in the dark seems tinted green. Gryffindor is so much warmer. It doesn't help that I have no idea who it is on either side of me. There's a pit in my stomach, worried about if someone wakes up and tries to talk to me and I mess the whole thing up. At least I know it's going well- the whole point of this prank is fooling Cassidy and Jo. Fred and I figured that if it worked on Lee, it would probably work on the girls too, right? Well, it's not actually a question. I know we're right. Cassidy had no idea. Fred and I went out together late after dinner. We avoided the girls, switched clothes, and spent a few hours hanging out and going over the plan. Then when it was close to midnight we snuck to each other's dorms. I got into the Slytherin Common Room no problem, expecting it to be empty. Instead the fire was going, and someone tending to it. It was Cassidy, waiting up for Fred. When I closed the door she turned around. My heart was racing, wondering if I had already lost. But she stared for a second before giving me this sleepy little smile and a wave. I waved back and sighed with relief. She patted the ground next to her and invite me to sit, so I went over and joined her. The fire was glowing green, like floo powder, but it was warm as anything.

"So, you excited for your birthday tomorrow? I waited up for you- it's almost midnight. I wanted to be the first one to wish you happy birthday," she told me as we both stared into the fire. I turned and looked at her, admiring the way the green light wove itself into her black hair and danced around her cheeks. She looked over at me, making a face like she was confused. Again my heart started pounding, but she just laughed and asked why I was staring at her like that. I shrugged and turned my face back to the fire.

"I swear I'm trying, Fred, but I think I'm about to fall asleep," she said, followed by a sad laugh. I was honestly relieved, so I stood up. She looked up and me and reached out her hands, so I pulled her to her feet. She pulled me into a hug.

"Happy birthday," she whispered into my ear. Then she pulled back and walked up a flight of stairs to the girls' dorm. I waited a minute, just thinking to myself, before coming here to Fred's bed. I'm still thinking now, harder than ever since I can't sleep. I can't put my finger on Cassidy: what her deal is, what her relationship with Fred is, what her relationship with me is. I don't get how sometimes she can seem so weak and helpless, like when the troll was chasing her, or back when we tried practicing Quidditch using her as bait- but then there are the times when she's so...passionate: when we're planning pranks, when she's talking about her classing- she's flat out powerful when she's got her wand in hand. Jo's so much easier to understand and to be with- she's straightforward, fun, and, well, predictable. I know who I am when I'm with Jo- we're on the same page.

And then there's Fred. Things are easier than ever, but also complicated. We're still us, still the twins, still Fred and George, but it seems like we're the only ones who see us like that. Mum and Dad even- they're so...awkward, in a way. Mom making Fred the green Christmas sweater, Dad not knowing how to talk to Fred about his House; it's so much harder than either of us lets on, which is why I'm so glad we found the girls. I keep thinking like this as long as I'm conscious, and then I feel the sensation of waking up, but with the same thoughts on my mind, leaving me to wonder if I had actually slept at all, or if everything has been a dream.

I stand up and notice everyone else is sleeping- so it must be early. I pinch myself for good measure, but when I don't wake up I come to the conclusion that it is an ungodly hour on my birthday. So I make my way back out to the Common Room. The fire isn't glowing, so everything seems even darker and colder than last night. I don't want to go out just yet- I doubt the elves have even made breakfast. So I go to sit on the couch, planning on just staring at the ceiling. But when I get the the couch I see her- Cassidy- lying curled up on the couch. Her eyes are close and her breathing is real slow and shallow. That just won't do.

"HEY!" I shout, giving her a jab in the side. She shrieks and tries to jerk away, rolling off the couch and landing with another yelp. I'm cracking up as I circle around and pull her up, but this time she doesn't accept my hand.

"You little arse," she hisses, "You would be dead if it weren't your birthday!" I keep laughing, and she cracks a smile herself, even though she's trying to hold it back. She shoves me down into the couch and stands over me.

"I'm glad you're up, though- sorry I was asleep. I wanted to be here when you got up; didn't expect it would be this early though." I shrug and tell her it's no problem, and she smiles. She goes behind the couch so I can't see her, and when she comes back around she has her hands behind her back. "I figured I'd be the first to give you a gift," she says with a sly smile. I sit up a little straighter- this is one perk I wasn't expecting from the switch. "But before I give it to you, I wanted to make sure: I'm the only one who's gonna give you this gift, right? I'm the only one you asked?" This is a problem. I don't know what Fred asked her for- he didn't mention anything last night. But I don't have time to worry about that- and I don't figure Freds the kind to ask everyone for the same thing.

"Course you're the only one!" I insist. She gives me a big smile, and I know I'm doing well. She asks if I'm ready, and I stick out my hands. She laughs really loud, shaking her head.

"Good one! Ha, as if you'd forget what you asked me for. You've been wanting it so long. For real, Fred- you ready?" She's real close to me now, but I still can't see behind her back. I'm real curious, excited too. What the hell is it?

"I'm ready!" Her hands fly out from behind her back and she puts them on my shoulders and leans in. Then her lips are on my lips, and we're kissing. She kissed me! I mean Fred. Me? I can't think straight, and before I know it, I'm kissing her right back. My hands on her hips and eyes closed and we're kissing. It's the best thing I think I've ever done. Barely a second after I start kissing her back she stops, pulls away, and stares at me with wide eyes. Why isn't she smiling? I don't have the chance to ask because right then and there she slaps me so hard across the face I think she knocked a tooth out.

"GEORGE WEASLEY, HOW DARE YOU?!" She shouts. Wait...what? George? She knows?

"What're you-" I start, but she goes to slap me again and I flinch. She doesn't hit me though. Instead she grabs me by the sleeves and starts dragging me none too gently to the entrance of the Common Room, then up out of the Dungeons. She absolutely fuming and not saying a word to me. "Where are we going?" I ask.

"To Gryffindor," she barks. I now immensely regret leaving the Map in Cassidy's custody, for her to memorize. She knows right where she's going, and she's in complete control of everything but her own emotions. She's furious, and I'm scared. We never make it to Gryffindor. As we get closer to the Great Hall I hear it- more footsteps, ones that aren't ours. I try to say something to Cassidy, but she ignores me. I think she honestly doesn't care if we get caught. We get into the main lobby, and then I see them- it's almost like a mirror image. It's Jo, and she's pulling Fred along by his ear, and he's whining and wincing. Cas and I get to them before they get to us- I don't know what Jo is doing this for, but I bet it's not as bad as why Cassidy has got me. Cassidy releases me nice enough, while Jo throws Fred to the ground by his ear. "What're you doing, Cas?" Jo asks her, and she looks over at me for a second.

"George has something to tell you both," she says, but I purse my lips in defiance. "George Weasley! Tell them what you did- tell them RIGHT NOW!" She bellows and everyone steps back.

"George?" Fred asks me. I bite my tongue, but know it's gonna get out one way or another. "Cassidy and I kissed," I admit. Fred goes pale. Jo's eyes are bulging. I look at Cassidy, expecting relief or pride or something like that, but it's something else entirely on her face.

"WHAT?! No, George Weasley, no! He kissed me! He impersonated Fred, lied to me, and KISSED me!"

"I did NOT!" I shout back. This is too much- I need to defend myself, "Yes, I lied. I said I was Fred- just like Fred said he was me! And maybe I was prepared to accept a gift meant for Fred- for the sake of the prank! But I did not kiss Cassidy- she kissed me!" They look at her and she rolls her eyes. I think Jo and Fred are pretty confused by now.

"Okay, fine. I kissed him. But he kissed me back!" No one is on her side anymore. They're not quite on mine either, but I can live with that. Fred looks pretty shocked, maybe a little betrayed, and Jo may or may not be prepared to murder me. But they know it wasn't my fault. By God, what was I supposed to do? I mean, is it so bad I kissed her back? She knew it was me, right? So she meant to kiss me! Wanted to kiss me! And maybe I wanted to kiss her back, is it that crazy?

"What're you two doing here?" Cassidy asks Jo. Jo just rolls her eyes. "Nothing half as bad as you two- I was pissed Fred thought he could fool me."

"You couldn't tell them apart first year," Cassidy mutters.

"Two years ago! I know by now, I'm not stupid."

"Says the Gryffindor," Cassidy mutters again. This time Jo just sticks out her tongue, and Fred high fives Cassidy with a laugh. Then she hugs him and wishes him happy birthday, taking his hand and walking back towards the dungeons, apparently without another thought of me or Jo. I shouldn't care, but dammit, Cas. Just dammit all.

"So, guess you're having a happy birthday," Jo says, still keeping a bit of distance from me.

"Not quite." She smiles and offers me her hand.

"Well, I guess we should fix that, shouldn't we? How about we go out- Cas gave me the Map for the day." I smile back. After everything, this might just be a good birthday.


	11. Chapter 3-11 POV Jo

He reaches his hand out to move my hair away from my eyes. Next thing I know, he's holding my cheek softly, and leaning in. I turn my face away, my cheeks burning so hot I'm afraid he'll scorch his hand.

"What's wrong, Jolene? Don't you want this?"

"I'm sorry! I do, I so do...just...do it again! I'll-" he cuts me off, laughing. He's so beautiful when he laughs, the way he smiles from his eyes.

"You're right, Jo. I don't want summer hanging in between this. How about you go off, do your thing, and find me when we get back. We'll try this again. If you still turn away, I'll know it's too soon. Sound good?"

I bite my lip and ponder for a second. No, it doesn't sound good, actually. I want this now. I've wanted it for so long, so why'd I turn away? I came to him about it, so why was I the one to turn away? I look at him and he's got this face...his face- he's trying not to smile, not to laugh. He looks so sure of himself, like he knows he's right. It's the kind of cockiness I've seen so often on Cas's face, and maybe that's why I'm so comfortable with him. I can trust that face.

"Yeah, okay. We'll wait. You'll find me in the fall, and I swear by then I'll get over the blushing," I half laugh. He beams and nods.

"Don't feel like you have to stop the blushing- red's a brilliant color on you, ferret."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter in the third year of Witches for Weasleys series. The next update will be in a new story. Thanks for reading, please feel free to give feedback!


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